It is quite important for the health and well being of a domestic cat to not only feed it properly but also to provide stimulating activities. Cats which become bored often times become destructive not only of their surroundings but also of themselves. Cats which are not properly stimulated can actually suffer adverse health effects and as a consequence, proper cat stimulation is a significant consideration for virtually all cat owners.
In addition to pet stimulation, generally, domestic cats require rather unique amusement devices not shared by other domestic pets. Specifically, cats require, among other things, surfaces upon which they can scratch. If an appropriate cat scratching surface is not provided, the cat will use any available surface including upholstered furniture, drapes and rugs to satisfy its need to scratch which could cause significant damage.
There have been a variety of cat scratching devices available in the marketplace for quite some time. The most successful of such devices have surfaces which will eventually be worn out requiring replacement. Such surfaces include, for example, carpet, sisal and corrugated cardboard. Cardboard is the least durable of the cat scratching surfaces but cats enjoy cardboard because the corrugations have the appropriate feel to satisfy their natural scratching tendencies. However, because of the relatively soft nature of corrugated cardboard, scratchers composed of such material must be replaced often tending to unduly contribute to the cost of a cat's maintenance.
It has further been recognized that providing a cat with different scratching surfaces increases the cat's interest in any amusement device. Boredom and disinterest are much less likely to manifest themselves when the cat is provided simultaneously with different cat scratching surfaces from which to choose. It has also been found that certain cats prefer certain surfaces and, as a consequence, providing a universal cat scratching and amusement device which has a variety of surfaces simultaneously available to the cat will greatly increase the probability that the pet amusement and scratching device will be embraced and used by the cat as intended. In this regard, as noted previously, some cat scratching surfaces tend to degrade faster than others. When applied to the present invention, amusement devices which not only have relatively soft highly degradable surfaces as well as more wear resistant surfaces will enable a cat to employ the device even when certain regions cannot provide an appropriate scratching experience until suitable replacement has been carried out.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a cat amusement and activity device that includes a plurality of different segments within an activity post providing different scratching surfaces.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a cat amusement and activity device where at least a portion of the activity post can be replaced thus refreshing different scratching surfaces.
These and further objects will be more readily appreciated when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.